This Buffalo Sabres forward surprisingly returned to practice.
Buffalo Sabres forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel returned to practice on Tuesday (Oct. 22). The gritty winger has been sidelined since suffering a lower-body injury in the club's season opener against the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 4.
Aube-Kubel's return to practice was surprising, as his injury was expected to keep him out for three to six weeks. However, with his return to practice, it is clear that he is recovering quicker than expected. Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff made that abundantly clear while speaking to reporters.
Here is what Ruff said about Aube-Kubel's return to practice:
"I'm actually shocked. I'm really impressed that he's back."
Nicolas Aube-KubelRuff shared that Aube-Kubel could return to the lineup this upcoming week. If not, he would return in the middle of next week, as Ruff also noted.
This is certainly great news, as it seemed likely that Aube-Kubel would miss far more time than he had. However, the Sabres are now expected to get him back shortly. With Aube-Kubel being a solid part of Buffalo's bottom six, this is a nice surprise.